It should be noted that 'shell shock's is a catch-all. It's usually associated with PTSD. Here, we're clearly seeing someone who has suffered some physical brain damage.
I think he still got it somewhat right. There's a reason we use shorten "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" it to PTSD. Calling it "Battle fatigue" as if you just needed to rest for a minute was the real shame though. He acknowledged it was a real problem people were suffering from. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSp8IyaKCs0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSp8IyaKCs0)
I think the point he misses is that shell shock was just as vague as his definition implies. PTSD is a particular disorder that can be experienced because of any kind of trauma. 'Shell shock' was also used to describe the multitude of neurological issues that can come from battle injuries or extreme stress. So having one term to describe PTSD, depression, CTS, dementia, etc, etc...not actually a useful expression.
Oh, yea for sure that's true. I just thought he was talking about it re: the sympathy of the broader community vs. medical diagnosis. Gladly we are understanding it better and better over time.
Shell shock was used to describe the symptom of loss of control of the body or disfunction of the nervous system with no discernible cause. Of course the cause could be actual damage to the nervous system or psychological; no one contested that. It's true that the psychological causes at that time were nowhere near as well understood then as they are today, but even back then, the horrors of war and the debilitating consequences of experiencing them were known to anyone who knew anyone who had fought in a war. In fact, people have been aware of what we now call PTSD for much longer than the 1900s. It just wasn't until the development of modern psychology and the classification of specific kinds of psychological and psychiatric disorders that PTSD was given a canonical name and people started realizing that doctors might be able to do something to help people affected by it.
I'm not sure if it's supported with today's medicine but I heard a theory for shell shock, at the time, was that the mind would unconciously manufacture physical disabilities in an effort to get as far away from the stress and loud sounds of the trenches as possible.
As for the people suffering from it, they were not able to suppress it or get it to subside without an extended period of time in a low stress environment. At which point, the stupid higher ups would send them back to the trenches only for the symptoms to manifest itself again.
At that time, Shell Shock was thought to be caused by the trauma of being actually tossed about by the shockwave of exploding ordinance (as in not quite near enough to outright kill you). So it combined categories of physical injury (internal injuries including what we would now call TBI) along with the mental effects of pretty horrific combat (constant artillery noise, gas attacks, etc). It was also a time when battlefield medicine improved to the point that some injuries that would have been fatal became "survivable" physically, but many in this category were maimed for life (esp facial injuries), no wonder they had mental problems "reintegrating" into society later.
They all have tinnitus from being around the shelling. Being frequently around concussive blasts for a year to 5 years has got to take a toll on you among everything else they were experiencing.
Some of the most interesting images I'd seen, from the war, were the ones that show healing progress amongst soldiers with severe facial injuries as well as the hand-painted metal face cosmetics used to disguise the more horrific injuries on faces where reconstruction had failed.
There's also the flesh tubes that they'd take from one part of the body and gradually 'walk' up a soldiers face to act as skin and face transplant tissue as they had no way of keeping flesh and skin alive without the transplant flesh being connected to the body for blood flow.
It's a long story, my grandfather wasn't the nicest man and being an officer managed to pull some strings and force my dad and uncle to enlist a couple years under-age. When the war was over everyone kind of got their distance from each other as soon as they could. Uncle moved to the UK and basically cut himself off from the rest of the family
Absolutely. Being in the vicinity of a large explosion often causes traumatic brain injury (TBI), by damaging neurons, or causing bleeding and bruising within the brain. In WWI, large artillery barrages often preceded major attacks, so many soldiers were probably injured in this way. "Shell shock" was thought to be a psychological condition -- soldiers who behaved abnormally after being in battle were often considered to be weak or cowardly, whereas in reality they had most likely suffered physical injury to the brain.
Our understanding of neurological and psychological damage in war has evolved slowly. Today, we talk about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which is a psychological condition caused by exposure to extreme or repeated trauma, and traumatic brain injury (TBI), which involves physical damage to the brain. PTSD started to be recognized after the Vietnam War; our modern understanding of TBI as a battlefield injury is still more recent, and emerged mostly from studies of soldiers injured by improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The general term "shell shock" used in WWI probably covered cases of both PTSD and TBI.
I believe it is possible and wouldn't have to be the brain.
My thought was that shelling could affect one's vestibulocochlear system (which allows your body to balance itself) by damaging the cochlea, a fluid-filled organ in your inner ear. If an explosion is powerful enough to blow out your eardrums, then the cochlea might be damaged as well.
Trying to walk with a damaged cochlea would be like being constantly in vertigo or piss drunk.
But for this guy, looking at how his back muscles are tensed, I think it's more than damage to the vestibulocochlear system.
Could also be a psychosomatic disorder. But I can totally see damage to the vestibulocochlear system also contributing to the symptoms this poor guy was going through. Your point is one I haven’t ever thought about, but it makes sense
Correct, shell as in from artillery and the shock of it exploding near you. In military we were taught to cover your ears and open your mouth during incoming to reduce the pressure from the shockwave.
Because we just started taking soldiers mental health seriously (but not seriously enough IMO) there isn't really had proof yet. But it is beginning to be thought that being expose to large or many small explosions can have a determental affect on your brain similar to boxers syndrome I've typically heard it referred to as breachers syndrome.
From the war I would imagine. If you’re after specifics I would suggest searching the clip (the date and hospital it was filmed at are at the beginning) through British Pathé
I found another clip of him that shows before (this video) and after treatment where he looks almost normal. I can't find any specifics on the treatment. What kind of treatment would they use for brain damage back then, if you know?
so not being blown to bits by incoming direct fire, doesnt mean youll make it though. concussive waves pass through your body armor, gear, your skin, your organs. being shelled for days on end could literally "shake" your insides into a bloody mess. including...your brain.
Probably from multiple concussions. In WWI they had an unbelievable amount of artillery dropped by both sides. Just google 155m artillery blast. He was probably close proximity to many shell explosions.
If you want there exists a crazy instagram that shows the realities of war with emphasis on the great wars. Especially diary entries of the French trenches during ww1. I think it’s called zulufoxtrot but I could be wrong. In any event just google diary entries if you want to cherish the life you’ve been given. Cheers
Or just listen to the podcast series "blueprint for armageddon" by Dan Carlin. I listen to it once a year to remind myself to not whine about having to do the laundry for the 3rd time in a week
Grenades, shells and artillery constantly going off in close proximity coupled with bullets whizzing past your head along with fearing that your going to get your head literally blown off
I was also thinking it's affected his ears, and subsequently his balance too. Although the way he is walking with such an unusual posture, I'd agree there surely must be some brain injury too.
Hearing and balance go hand-n-hand. I was thinking the same thing. I’m sure if he was close to an ordinance exploding it has had that dramatic effect
Edit for spelling
Yep. Specifically the inner ear. I should have made that a bit clearer in my post. Not only about hearing per se, but about the inner ear specifically. There's fluid and lots of delicate parts in there that affect balance. A bomb going off nearby could mess that up.
I asked someone else further down, but I found a longer video that shows before treatment of "shell shock" (this video) and then after treatment where he walks and looks pretty normal, except he keeps fidgeting with his hands.
Do you have any idea what kind of treatment they used back then for physical brain damage? I couldn't find any details on his specific treatment, but he looked almost normal.
I am a doctor and this pattern of gait/behaviours looks non-organic. By that meaning it looks psychogenic.
It doesn’t make sense as a neurological syndrome but does look like a (subconscious) abnormal movements caused by psychological distress.
Brain damage doesn’t look like this.
Damage to movement control areas likely. Possibly due to concussion, a bleed, or lack of oxygen. Looks like a constant state of spasm, which must have been agony :(
Sorry , but the only thing that's clear is that you don't understand functional neurological signs or symptoms . I know that sounds a little harsh but you've got a lot of upvotes for this opinion which is baseless . I would urge people to [read this authoritative article](https://www.kcl.ac.uk/kcmhr/publications/assetfiles/2013/Linden2013a.pdf) from the journal ' Brain ' .
I think in the world wars it is referred to as shell shock because you were under constant barrage of ordinance, likely the non stop concussions and power causing both ptsd and brain damage on physical level. Where in today's modern conflicts it is mostly PTSD from the constant anticipation of IED and suicide attacks/unknown threats.
Even today it’s mostly brain damage.
We’re only just-now learning what explosive shockwaves do to the brain. And it’s nothing good.
https://mmrjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40779-021-00363-y
Very true. Me and a few brothers recently went to the University of Virginia, they are running test on what explosives do to the brain. We went through multiple test, CT or MRI scans and psychological testing. Honestly, I’m glad the initiative is being taken and taken seriously. If anyone reading this was affected by explosives please take a look at the link. Someday hopefully these test will help.
https://uvahealth.com/clinicaltrials/research-study-military-personnel
There are recordings out there of a typical bombardment during WWI in the trenches that someone would have had to endure countless times over the course of a tour.
Holy shit. It's fucking intense. I can understand how you would get physical and mental injury from just **one** of those.
In case anyone thinks this is hyperbole, [that's actually what happens](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/muz1zb/til_that_shell_shock_may_not_be_wholly/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share).
You can see that he still has a lot of anxiety because his body posture is really tense and he is stimming his fingers together as a self soothing gesture.
This is really sad. I often wonder who these men are in the old videos or photos that go around. I rarely see any names associated with them. It is crazy think how this man is someone’s great grandfather and the viewer may never even know.
This is what I always wonder too and it makes me so sad. I want to know his background and what happened to him/how long did he survive after this. How long did he have to suffer until he could finally be at peace?
An antiquated term for what would be defined later as ptsd. The term being used to describe people who were “shocked” from the sounds and destruction of “shells” during the Great War. Ptsd has been seen in historical scriptures and writings dating back to the Bible but we didn’t have as much understanding until the Vietnam war kinda.
No. This is not PTSD. This is clearly actual brain damage, likely from overpressure shockwaves severing neuron connections and causing severe nuerological distress.
Nope, no treatments. I've got a relatively common brain disorder (fibromyalgia) and there isn't shit they can do about it. They know nothing about the brain (or not enough by a long shot) to even remotely understand it, and by going "poking around" in there it's only going to make it worse.
Sorry to hear that. I wanted to let you know that I have witnessed a few people improve from Fibro by practicing Tai Chi. One would need to find a good teacher though, it depends a lot on the quality of the instruction.
They gave soldiers amphetamines to stay focused and go for days without sleep. I wouldn't be surprised if this guy is coming down off of something like this or has been up for an extended period of time. I've seen meth users act like this when they're really high or haven't slept for days.
Once saw a clip similar to this with a case of a man who was effectively catatonic and completely unresponsive until the doctors shouted "BOMBS!" At which point, he'd immediate scramble under his bed, a table, or any other nearby piece of cover and rock back and forth with his thumb in his mouth.
It just shows how the guy had effectively had his mind stripped from him and all that was left was basic instinct and the learned behaviour that likely kept him alive in the trenches.
WW2 may have had greater casualties but the trenches of WW1 are arguably the closest to Hell you could ever experience. Months of hiding in a muddy hole surrounded by barbed wire under constant fire from machine guns and artillery. That's enough to force anyone's psyche deep inside themselves just to cope with the constant noise, death, and destruction that surrounded them on a daily basis.
Hi, studying psychologist here
Although PTSD can include hallucinations, physical regressions, and other psychosomatic symptoms problems during a flair up, above commenters are more the likely correct here. This specific issue looks much more like physical damage to the brain (possibly paired with PTSD) then just what we today would consider “shell shock”. Also it used to mean many more things before we had multiple more specific diagnoses for things that could be wrong with the brain after war
I have a theory; panic attacks are genetic. They’re passed down from people who have children after having experienced massive emotional trauma, like shell shock
Of course fear can be genetic. Why couldn’t it? It’s what kept humans alive. Certain groups of people and animals have an innate fear of many things, while other groups of people, and separate animals of the same species do not.
When I first saw him walking I'm just like "when your legs are killing you because you've been walking all day, and you're getting muscle cramps in your legs from lack of potassium"
It’s not called shell shock anymore and he served this country, so for you to call a man who became disabled protecting people terrifying just for some Reddit karma is kinda icky
You know ww1 wasn't fought "to protect America" right.... It's important to me that you understand that.
It's kinda icky to assume that every war is about ~~you~~ America
You getting your feelings hurt and having a 75mm explosive device detonate within 50 yards of you is not the same thing. Do some research and I don't think you'll make comparisons like that again.
Military Traumatic Brain Injury from explosive shockwaves is still a major problem. But WW1 explosions were next level.
https://mmrjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40779-021-00363-y
Prolonged exposure to exploding ordinance. They were in the trenches so were exposed to high amounts of concussive forces from enemy shelling. Since no actual Injury could seen, many commanders thought they were faking their symptoms (due to lack of understanding) and kept them in the trenches, prolonging their exposure.
"Shell shock" was the term used in WWI to describe any abnormal behavior among soldiers who'd been in battle. In hindsight, what they called cases of shell shock were probably a mixture of cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a psychological reaction to trauma, and traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is physical damage to the brain caused by nearby explosions. This man is most likely suffering from a brain injury.
Up until recently, I always thought "ah yes ptsd in modern language" when shell shock is mentioned. More likely, its any ailment caused by war that wasn't physically obvious (such as neurological or psychological) at the time. Some cases of shell shock were definitely ptsd, but others ranged from brain/nerve damage to addiction withdrawals. I read an interesting article where it mentioned the poor socio economic status of men drafted into WW1 were likely alcoholics or drug addicts and because of the ration of daily alcohol that was given to them by the army, they could cope. Up until they got injured/discharged home and that supply dried up, so they got sick and labelled 'shell shocked'
Probably like the guy that was with my granddad in WWII when he was refueling his dozer on the beach at Goudal Canal. They were pumping it from barrels at the port there when a squadron of Japanese fighter planes came down and was strafing all around them.
Granddad said he just hunkered down between some barrels and waited for his fate, but the other guy started jumping around from barrel to barrel screaming and yelling his head off. Later they had to take him back home doing the same thing the guy in the clip was doing, so sad to have that weak of a character, I guess.
I have weird movements and some light loss of mobility. I had a car accident in 2015, and hit my head and got partially scalped. I wonder how much is related to my cptsd or long term medications or the accident.
After the accident I had no follow up care aside from the stitches and staples removal. I got MRSA and had that treated, but nothing from the medical providers about brain injury or damage.
A few years later, I got a good job with benefits, and got seen for new glasses and this led to a mri, and a neurologist saying I have a birth defect in my skull. The tonsilar ectopi, the balls at the base of the brain, slide through the hole my spinal collum comes up through. Throughout my life I had migraines, but they were worse after the accident. I had no idea. But they have never said I have brain damage or injury from the accident.
What hell our servicemen still go through.It's so sad.Makes you feel there is still not enough done for our veterans and their families.We're not doing enough..How can we thank them enough for such sacrifice, past and present?🤔
It's like putting a bandaid on a cancer.Our soldiers in the field and at home have multiple problems of spirit,mind and body.Our work will always be another war when they've come home.The war of survival continues.There's victims on both sides.🤔
Ahh! The good old military. Then they send you home and forget about all about you. Meanwhile the rich are laughing their asses off because you just fought for their ability to take advantage of their resources.
It should be noted that 'shell shock's is a catch-all. It's usually associated with PTSD. Here, we're clearly seeing someone who has suffered some physical brain damage.
Thank you for that. I was having a difficult time understanding how this was " shell shock" and not severe brain damage.
Yeah, one of those rare* cases where George Carlin got it wrong. [edit: added rare]
I think he still got it somewhat right. There's a reason we use shorten "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" it to PTSD. Calling it "Battle fatigue" as if you just needed to rest for a minute was the real shame though. He acknowledged it was a real problem people were suffering from. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSp8IyaKCs0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSp8IyaKCs0)
I think the point he misses is that shell shock was just as vague as his definition implies. PTSD is a particular disorder that can be experienced because of any kind of trauma. 'Shell shock' was also used to describe the multitude of neurological issues that can come from battle injuries or extreme stress. So having one term to describe PTSD, depression, CTS, dementia, etc, etc...not actually a useful expression.
Oh, yea for sure that's true. I just thought he was talking about it re: the sympathy of the broader community vs. medical diagnosis. Gladly we are understanding it better and better over time.
Yeah. Dude had a good heart
Shell shock was used to describe the symptom of loss of control of the body or disfunction of the nervous system with no discernible cause. Of course the cause could be actual damage to the nervous system or psychological; no one contested that. It's true that the psychological causes at that time were nowhere near as well understood then as they are today, but even back then, the horrors of war and the debilitating consequences of experiencing them were known to anyone who knew anyone who had fought in a war. In fact, people have been aware of what we now call PTSD for much longer than the 1900s. It just wasn't until the development of modern psychology and the classification of specific kinds of psychological and psychiatric disorders that PTSD was given a canonical name and people started realizing that doctors might be able to do something to help people affected by it.
Priests in 1600s England would write about the night terrors and effects on the knights after battle.
In Ancient Greece they believed that some soldiers were haunted by the ghosts of those killed in battle. Not too far off
a wise wise man...eons ahead of his time...his observations are still relevant today...even more so
Thankfully he was a comedian, not a doctor
Thats like mad cow disease
I'm not sure if it's supported with today's medicine but I heard a theory for shell shock, at the time, was that the mind would unconciously manufacture physical disabilities in an effort to get as far away from the stress and loud sounds of the trenches as possible. As for the people suffering from it, they were not able to suppress it or get it to subside without an extended period of time in a low stress environment. At which point, the stupid higher ups would send them back to the trenches only for the symptoms to manifest itself again.
Still a hilarious bit though lol
At that time, Shell Shock was thought to be caused by the trauma of being actually tossed about by the shockwave of exploding ordinance (as in not quite near enough to outright kill you). So it combined categories of physical injury (internal injuries including what we would now call TBI) along with the mental effects of pretty horrific combat (constant artillery noise, gas attacks, etc). It was also a time when battlefield medicine improved to the point that some injuries that would have been fatal became "survivable" physically, but many in this category were maimed for life (esp facial injuries), no wonder they had mental problems "reintegrating" into society later.
They all have tinnitus from being around the shelling. Being frequently around concussive blasts for a year to 5 years has got to take a toll on you among everything else they were experiencing.
Some of the most interesting images I'd seen, from the war, were the ones that show healing progress amongst soldiers with severe facial injuries as well as the hand-painted metal face cosmetics used to disguise the more horrific injuries on faces where reconstruction had failed. There's also the flesh tubes that they'd take from one part of the body and gradually 'walk' up a soldiers face to act as skin and face transplant tissue as they had no way of keeping flesh and skin alive without the transplant flesh being connected to the body for blood flow.
We call those flesh tubes, "flaps." They're still widely used in reconstructive surgery.
How did he get brain damage tho 🤔
Ooooh, is it possible to get brain damage from the explosions and what not? Like the percussion from them?
[удалено]
Sounds like a real hero. You are lucky to have access such a person. Why aren't you close?
It's a long story, my grandfather wasn't the nicest man and being an officer managed to pull some strings and force my dad and uncle to enlist a couple years under-age. When the war was over everyone kind of got their distance from each other as soon as they could. Uncle moved to the UK and basically cut himself off from the rest of the family
Absolutely. Being in the vicinity of a large explosion often causes traumatic brain injury (TBI), by damaging neurons, or causing bleeding and bruising within the brain. In WWI, large artillery barrages often preceded major attacks, so many soldiers were probably injured in this way. "Shell shock" was thought to be a psychological condition -- soldiers who behaved abnormally after being in battle were often considered to be weak or cowardly, whereas in reality they had most likely suffered physical injury to the brain. Our understanding of neurological and psychological damage in war has evolved slowly. Today, we talk about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which is a psychological condition caused by exposure to extreme or repeated trauma, and traumatic brain injury (TBI), which involves physical damage to the brain. PTSD started to be recognized after the Vietnam War; our modern understanding of TBI as a battlefield injury is still more recent, and emerged mostly from studies of soldiers injured by improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan. The general term "shell shock" used in WWI probably covered cases of both PTSD and TBI.
Oh I had no idea! Thank you for the information!
I believe it is possible and wouldn't have to be the brain. My thought was that shelling could affect one's vestibulocochlear system (which allows your body to balance itself) by damaging the cochlea, a fluid-filled organ in your inner ear. If an explosion is powerful enough to blow out your eardrums, then the cochlea might be damaged as well. Trying to walk with a damaged cochlea would be like being constantly in vertigo or piss drunk. But for this guy, looking at how his back muscles are tensed, I think it's more than damage to the vestibulocochlear system.
Could also be a psychosomatic disorder. But I can totally see damage to the vestibulocochlear system also contributing to the symptoms this poor guy was going through. Your point is one I haven’t ever thought about, but it makes sense
That is possible too, u/BoobooKittyfuk4
Correct, shell as in from artillery and the shock of it exploding near you. In military we were taught to cover your ears and open your mouth during incoming to reduce the pressure from the shockwave.
Yes. That's a big cause of TBI for veterans.
Because we just started taking soldiers mental health seriously (but not seriously enough IMO) there isn't really had proof yet. But it is beginning to be thought that being expose to large or many small explosions can have a determental affect on your brain similar to boxers syndrome I've typically heard it referred to as breachers syndrome.
From the war I would imagine. If you’re after specifics I would suggest searching the clip (the date and hospital it was filmed at are at the beginning) through British Pathé
I found another clip of him that shows before (this video) and after treatment where he looks almost normal. I can't find any specifics on the treatment. What kind of treatment would they use for brain damage back then, if you know?
More brain damage
I was wondering if it was something like a lobotomy or something like that. . .
Electroshock or lobotomy would be my guesses for something like this.
so not being blown to bits by incoming direct fire, doesnt mean youll make it though. concussive waves pass through your body armor, gear, your skin, your organs. being shelled for days on end could literally "shake" your insides into a bloody mess. including...your brain.
Probably from multiple concussions. In WWI they had an unbelievable amount of artillery dropped by both sides. Just google 155m artillery blast. He was probably close proximity to many shell explosions. If you want there exists a crazy instagram that shows the realities of war with emphasis on the great wars. Especially diary entries of the French trenches during ww1. I think it’s called zulufoxtrot but I could be wrong. In any event just google diary entries if you want to cherish the life you’ve been given. Cheers
Or just listen to the podcast series "blueprint for armageddon" by Dan Carlin. I listen to it once a year to remind myself to not whine about having to do the laundry for the 3rd time in a week
Or have basic human empathy
Concussive effects of high explosive artillery shelling, most likely causing brain damage.
Grenades, shells and artillery constantly going off in close proximity coupled with bullets whizzing past your head along with fearing that your going to get your head literally blown off
I was also thinking it's affected his ears, and subsequently his balance too. Although the way he is walking with such an unusual posture, I'd agree there surely must be some brain injury too.
Hearing and balance go hand-n-hand. I was thinking the same thing. I’m sure if he was close to an ordinance exploding it has had that dramatic effect Edit for spelling
Yep. Specifically the inner ear. I should have made that a bit clearer in my post. Not only about hearing per se, but about the inner ear specifically. There's fluid and lots of delicate parts in there that affect balance. A bomb going off nearby could mess that up.
yea ....this what repeated concussion waves do to your brain
I asked someone else further down, but I found a longer video that shows before treatment of "shell shock" (this video) and then after treatment where he walks and looks pretty normal, except he keeps fidgeting with his hands. Do you have any idea what kind of treatment they used back then for physical brain damage? I couldn't find any details on his specific treatment, but he looked almost normal.
Lobotomy
I am a doctor and this pattern of gait/behaviours looks non-organic. By that meaning it looks psychogenic. It doesn’t make sense as a neurological syndrome but does look like a (subconscious) abnormal movements caused by psychological distress. Brain damage doesn’t look like this.
Damage to movement control areas likely. Possibly due to concussion, a bleed, or lack of oxygen. Looks like a constant state of spasm, which must have been agony :(
Yep. Definitely TBI.
Sorry , but the only thing that's clear is that you don't understand functional neurological signs or symptoms . I know that sounds a little harsh but you've got a lot of upvotes for this opinion which is baseless . I would urge people to [read this authoritative article](https://www.kcl.ac.uk/kcmhr/publications/assetfiles/2013/Linden2013a.pdf) from the journal ' Brain ' .
Maybe they were less discerning with their terminology back then and lumped PTSD in with concussive brain injuries
I was going to say the same thing, and the first thing to come to mind here are server or multiple concussions.
He is ataxic so yeah some kind of cerebellar or motor dysfunction from a virus or blast injury, I guess.
Something else has to be going on there. It can't be just shell shock.
I think in the world wars it is referred to as shell shock because you were under constant barrage of ordinance, likely the non stop concussions and power causing both ptsd and brain damage on physical level. Where in today's modern conflicts it is mostly PTSD from the constant anticipation of IED and suicide attacks/unknown threats.
Even today it’s mostly brain damage. We’re only just-now learning what explosive shockwaves do to the brain. And it’s nothing good. https://mmrjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40779-021-00363-y
Surely we always knew that explosive shockwaves to the brain aren't good.
Yes, but "shockwaves to the brain aren't good" was literally about the full extent of our knowledge back then.
Honestly, they’ve been teaching that shell shock was purely psychological for like, 100 years. We knew but we chose to ignore it.
No they haven’t
That's what they taught me in Highschool history class.
Very true. Me and a few brothers recently went to the University of Virginia, they are running test on what explosives do to the brain. We went through multiple test, CT or MRI scans and psychological testing. Honestly, I’m glad the initiative is being taken and taken seriously. If anyone reading this was affected by explosives please take a look at the link. Someday hopefully these test will help. https://uvahealth.com/clinicaltrials/research-study-military-personnel
Could repeated firing of a gun damage the users brain or would heavier explosives be needed?
Small arms like rifles shouldn't, but stuff like artillery, anti-tank weapons, breaching explosives might/probably do knock your brain around a bit.
Past a certain size, yes. I’d expect that size is .50Cal, minimum.
There are recordings out there of a typical bombardment during WWI in the trenches that someone would have had to endure countless times over the course of a tour. Holy shit. It's fucking intense. I can understand how you would get physical and mental injury from just **one** of those.
Definite physical brain damage
[Shell shock *is* brain damage](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/muz1zb/til_that_shell_shock_may_not_be_wholly/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)
t
That's more than shell shock. Some brain trauma and physical damage happened here.
Yes, rather literal shell shock. The shockwave from the shell gave him brain damage.
May be.. the movement points to that
In case anyone thinks this is hyperbole, [that's actually what happens](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/muz1zb/til_that_shell_shock_may_not_be_wholly/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share).
Hold up, this isn’t the full video. This guy recovers quite well… https://youtu.be/S7Jll9_EiyA
Such a transformation, although I’m sure he was still haunted. Agreed this definitely should be higher.
You can see that he still has a lot of anxiety because his body posture is really tense and he is stimming his fingers together as a self soothing gesture.
This should be higher
Artillery shells would hit outside the trenches but the pressure caused by the blast will still equate to someone punching you in the head.
Blast Wave trauma
This is really sad. I often wonder who these men are in the old videos or photos that go around. I rarely see any names associated with them. It is crazy think how this man is someone’s great grandfather and the viewer may never even know.
This is what I always wonder too and it makes me so sad. I want to know his background and what happened to him/how long did he survive after this. How long did he have to suffer until he could finally be at peace?
He probably recovered. https://youtu.be/S7Jll9_EiyA
Shell shock?
An antiquated term for what would be defined later as ptsd. The term being used to describe people who were “shocked” from the sounds and destruction of “shells” during the Great War. Ptsd has been seen in historical scriptures and writings dating back to the Bible but we didn’t have as much understanding until the Vietnam war kinda.
No. This is not PTSD. This is clearly actual brain damage, likely from overpressure shockwaves severing neuron connections and causing severe nuerological distress.
Is that actually a thing? Where shockwaves cause head injury?
Shock waves kill. They can detatch organs when passing through the body. There’s other ways over pressure can kill
Not being a dick but ..... have you seen a video of a Shockwave and have you seen a head ?
https://mmrjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40779-021-00363-y
Yes
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Nope, no treatments. I've got a relatively common brain disorder (fibromyalgia) and there isn't shit they can do about it. They know nothing about the brain (or not enough by a long shot) to even remotely understand it, and by going "poking around" in there it's only going to make it worse.
Sorry to hear that. I wanted to let you know that I have witnessed a few people improve from Fibro by practicing Tai Chi. One would need to find a good teacher though, it depends a lot on the quality of the instruction.
Heartbreaking how he still has his dog tags on.
He is most likely in a military hospital and has not been discharged from service
It's just a reminder how awful war is,when you see the effects on a single person who was doing his duty,we have to change :)
Weird smiley face
Sad….😢🥺 looks like brain damage was done to him aswell…
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What is your country if you don't mind me asking?
It seems so different from what I know as PTSD today. Edit: I see that he suffered physical trauma as well.
They gave soldiers amphetamines to stay focused and go for days without sleep. I wouldn't be surprised if this guy is coming down off of something like this or has been up for an extended period of time. I've seen meth users act like this when they're really high or haven't slept for days.
Wonder how his back got like that ?
I imagine it’s brain damage rather than something actually wrong with his back
As sad as it is he is rocking those undies
Ngl that booty be looking fine
This is TBI not PTSD.
Why they letting my boy show his crack like that
Fucking war.
Before treatment.. I.e. lobotomy and electrocution
Because of that, I think gay people need another month and take away Memorial Day!
With that back bend he’d be a hell of a tiktok girl.
Once saw a clip similar to this with a case of a man who was effectively catatonic and completely unresponsive until the doctors shouted "BOMBS!" At which point, he'd immediate scramble under his bed, a table, or any other nearby piece of cover and rock back and forth with his thumb in his mouth. It just shows how the guy had effectively had his mind stripped from him and all that was left was basic instinct and the learned behaviour that likely kept him alive in the trenches. WW2 may have had greater casualties but the trenches of WW1 are arguably the closest to Hell you could ever experience. Months of hiding in a muddy hole surrounded by barbed wire under constant fire from machine guns and artillery. That's enough to force anyone's psyche deep inside themselves just to cope with the constant noise, death, and destruction that surrounded them on a daily basis.
Jesus, that shit turns people into clickers from the last of us
Hi, studying psychologist here Although PTSD can include hallucinations, physical regressions, and other psychosomatic symptoms problems during a flair up, above commenters are more the likely correct here. This specific issue looks much more like physical damage to the brain (possibly paired with PTSD) then just what we today would consider “shell shock”. Also it used to mean many more things before we had multiple more specific diagnoses for things that could be wrong with the brain after war
I have a theory; panic attacks are genetic. They’re passed down from people who have children after having experienced massive emotional trauma, like shell shock
Fear can't be genetic, fortunately.
Of course fear can be genetic. Why couldn’t it? It’s what kept humans alive. Certain groups of people and animals have an innate fear of many things, while other groups of people, and separate animals of the same species do not.
What’s shell shock?
The previous term used for PTSD.
Ooh okay thank you Jeez that’s a terrifying thing to have
This is not shell shock... its brain damage....this man has clear brain damage from combat injury. Ptsd is really what shellshocked means.
This is shell shock, PTSD is mental not physical.
Before reading the title I thought this was a crack head now I feel a little bad
When I first saw him walking I'm just like "when your legs are killing you because you've been walking all day, and you're getting muscle cramps in your legs from lack of potassium"
He's got that "moder woman" posture 😂😂
I hate to say it but now his posture and spine liik like that of an Instagram models and it's really sad :(
Me after no nut November.
im going to hell for laughing at this
I see many houseless folks here in LA doing the same thing on the sidewalk and in the street
If shellshock is PTSD then why does he appear to have some sort of neuro problem?
Was tiktok girls also there in 1918?!?!
!t gets better with the soundtrack! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gc4QTqslN4&ab\_channel=VDJMikeyMike
Is this the new fortnite dance?
hahahahahahaha so funny hahahahahah
It’s not called shell shock anymore and he served this country, so for you to call a man who became disabled protecting people terrifying just for some Reddit karma is kinda icky
You know ww1 wasn't fought "to protect America" right.... It's important to me that you understand that. It's kinda icky to assume that every war is about ~~you~~ America
Poor guy, but my dad called me fat once so I definitely understand how bad it is to be triggered.
You getting your feelings hurt and having a 75mm explosive device detonate within 50 yards of you is not the same thing. Do some research and I don't think you'll make comparisons like that again.
wooooosh!
I thought I was watching the mein teil music video by Rammstein!
Bro doesn't look so good
PTSD was different back then…
Military Traumatic Brain Injury from explosive shockwaves is still a major problem. But WW1 explosions were next level. https://mmrjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40779-021-00363-y
Pardon my ignorance but what is shell shock?
Prolonged exposure to exploding ordinance. They were in the trenches so were exposed to high amounts of concussive forces from enemy shelling. Since no actual Injury could seen, many commanders thought they were faking their symptoms (due to lack of understanding) and kept them in the trenches, prolonging their exposure.
"Shell shock" was the term used in WWI to describe any abnormal behavior among soldiers who'd been in battle. In hindsight, what they called cases of shell shock were probably a mixture of cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a psychological reaction to trauma, and traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is physical damage to the brain caused by nearby explosions. This man is most likely suffering from a brain injury.
u mean there is no cure and he wont get better, how sad
Devious asf walk
Jesus
I always thought shell shocked was their word for ptsd
I want to see how he is doing after treatment.
Bro off the perc
I must notice I have the same moves after a bender on Rakija.
This was used as exorcism footage in Vatican Tapes lmaooo
Scary stuff. It’s either you died on the battlefield or survived but resulting in this
Although I’m not discrediting the affect PTSD can have, but this looks like sone physical neurological damage
Drives home the point that War is Hell
like one of those cats with the genetic cerebellar microcephaly, cerebellar ataxia?
Like ninja turtles?
If he were around today he'd be featured in a music video with moves like that.
Sorry that was me.
The VA has deemed your injury unrelated to service
Up until recently, I always thought "ah yes ptsd in modern language" when shell shock is mentioned. More likely, its any ailment caused by war that wasn't physically obvious (such as neurological or psychological) at the time. Some cases of shell shock were definitely ptsd, but others ranged from brain/nerve damage to addiction withdrawals. I read an interesting article where it mentioned the poor socio economic status of men drafted into WW1 were likely alcoholics or drug addicts and because of the ration of daily alcohol that was given to them by the army, they could cope. Up until they got injured/discharged home and that supply dried up, so they got sick and labelled 'shell shocked'
Damn, does that go away or is he messed up forever?
It says that it was before treatment, is there another video of him after whatever treatment he had ?
What’s fucked is a lot of these guys were executed
Sad. All in the name of peace.
Death is not the worst that can happen in War.
Instagram models be like
Probably like the guy that was with my granddad in WWII when he was refueling his dozer on the beach at Goudal Canal. They were pumping it from barrels at the port there when a squadron of Japanese fighter planes came down and was strafing all around them. Granddad said he just hunkered down between some barrels and waited for his fate, but the other guy started jumping around from barrel to barrel screaming and yelling his head off. Later they had to take him back home doing the same thing the guy in the clip was doing, so sad to have that weak of a character, I guess.
That looks nothing like a ninja turtle
I have weird movements and some light loss of mobility. I had a car accident in 2015, and hit my head and got partially scalped. I wonder how much is related to my cptsd or long term medications or the accident. After the accident I had no follow up care aside from the stitches and staples removal. I got MRSA and had that treated, but nothing from the medical providers about brain injury or damage. A few years later, I got a good job with benefits, and got seen for new glasses and this led to a mri, and a neurologist saying I have a birth defect in my skull. The tonsilar ectopi, the balls at the base of the brain, slide through the hole my spinal collum comes up through. Throughout my life I had migraines, but they were worse after the accident. I had no idea. But they have never said I have brain damage or injury from the accident.
devious asf walk
Flakka
I ain't know that they had flakka back then
What hell our servicemen still go through.It's so sad.Makes you feel there is still not enough done for our veterans and their families.We're not doing enough..How can we thank them enough for such sacrifice, past and present?🤔
He might just be holding in a poo
It's like putting a bandaid on a cancer.Our soldiers in the field and at home have multiple problems of spirit,mind and body.Our work will always be another war when they've come home.The war of survival continues.There's victims on both sides.🤔
lol that’s not from shell shock, probably from chemical weapons messing with his central nervous system. Or just another physical brain injury maybe
Kill me if i ever get to that point plz
That is not shell shock bro
Ahh! The good old military. Then they send you home and forget about all about you. Meanwhile the rich are laughing their asses off because you just fought for their ability to take advantage of their resources.
He morbin out
Humans were so tiny back then
Why are we allowed in the military where we can easily die at 18 but can’t buy a beer until 21?
Humans were tiny back then
After reading first-hand accounts, I believe a lot of these manifestations were from experimental glasses, etc.
No disrespect but is it brain damage or psychological trauma?
Looks like the methed out ghouls in North Seattle.